La sécurité automobile est l’une des principales considérations lors de l’achat d’un véhicule. Avant d’ être commercialisée, une voiture doit répondre aux normes de sécurité du pays, ce qui conduit au développement de systèmes de retenue tels que les airbags et ceintures de sécurité. De plus, des ratings comme EURO NCAP et US NCAP permettent d’évaluer de manière indépendante la sécurité de la voiture. Des essais catapultes sont entre autres effectués pour confirmer le niveau de protection du véhicule et les résultats sont généralement basés sur des valeurs de référence des dommages corporels dérivés de paramètres physiques mesurés dans les mannequins.Cette thèse doctorale présente une approche pour le traitement des données d’entrée (c’est-à-dire des paramètres des systèmes de retenue définis par des experts) suivie d’une classification des essais catapultes frontaux selon ces mêmes paramètres. L’étude est uniquement basée sur les données du passager, les données collectées pour le conducteur n’ étant pas assez complètes pour produire des résultats satisfaisants. L’objectif principal est de créer un modèle qui définit l’influence des paramètres d’entrées sur la sévérité des dommages et qui aide les ingénieurs à avoir un ordre de grandeur des résultats des essais catapultes selon la législation ou le rating choisi. Les valeurs biomécaniques du mannequin (outputs du modèle) ont été regroupées en clusters dans le but de définir des niveaux de dommages corporels. Le modèle ainsi que les différents algorithmes ont été implémentés dans un programme pour une meilleur utilisation quotidienne. / Safety is one of the most important considerations when buying a new car. The car has to achievecrash tests defined by the legislation before being selling in a country, what drives to the developmentof safety systems such as airbags and seat belts. Additionally, ratings like EURO NCAP and US NCAPenable to provide an independent evaluation of the car safety. Frontal sled tests are thus carried outto confirm the protection level of the vehicle and the results are mainly based on injury assessmentreference values derived from physical parameters measured in dummies.This doctoral thesis presents an approach for the treatment of the input data (i.e. parameters ofthe restraint systems defined by experts) followed by a classification of frontal sled tests accordingto those parameters. The study is only based on data from the passenger side, the collected datafor the driver were not enough completed to produce satisfying results. The main objective is tocreate a model that evaluates the input parameters’ influence on the injury severity and helps theengineers having a prediction of the sled tests results according to the chosen legislation or rating.The dummy biomechanical values (outputs of the model) have been regrouped into clusters in orderto define injuries groups. The model and various algorithms have been implemented in a GraphicalUser Interface for a better practical daily use.

Le but de ce travail a été d'étudier l'adaptation β-cellulaire au stress oxydant (SO) dans un modèle animal de diabète de type 2, le rat GK/Par. Dans le premier volet de cette thèse, nous avons évalué le stress oxydant insulaire et l'impact des espèces réactives de l'oxygène (ERO) sur la sécrétion de l'insuline. Les îlots de rats diabétiques GK/Par apparaissent protégés contre le SO, car (i) les marqueurs de SO ciblent essentiellement la périphérie insulaire (aires vasculaires et inflammatoires) ; (ii) l'accumulation d"ERO est plus faible comparativement aux îlots témoins (Wistar) ; (iii) leur sécrétion de l'insuline n'est pas altérée après exposition aux ERO ; et (iv) ces adaptations sont associées à une augmentation des défenses antioxydantes insulaires. Dans un deuxième volet, nous avons vérifié si ces mécanismes adaptatifs pouvaient expliquer la protection des cellules β contre l'apoptose chez le rat GK/Par diabétique. Nous avons montré que le phénotype particulier de l'îlot GK/Par diabétique consiste, ex vivo, en une augmentation des gènes anti-apoptotiques, associée in vitro à une résistance contre l'apoptose induite par les ERO. Nous avons démontré que l'AMPc joue un rôle dans cette résistance à l'apoptose. Compte tenu de l'existence de sources d'ERO proches des cellules endocrines insulaires chez le rat GK/Par, nous avons, dans un dernier volet, étudié le rôle d'une dysfonction endothéliale et du processus inflammatoire associé (phénomène au potentiel pro-oxydant) dans l'adaptation antioxydante des îlots. Le blocage de la voie IL-1 via un traitement in vivo par IL-1Ra a permis, au niveau insulaire, de diminuer l'activation endothéliale, le stress inflammatoire et de normaliser l'expression des gènes antioxydants. Enfin, puisqu'il existe une production d'ERO insulaire précoce chez le rat GK/Par (avant l'installation du diabète), nous suggérons qu'elle soit à l'origine de l'augmentation des défenses antioxydantes/anti-apoptotiques. Cette adaptation est en place après installation du diabète et permet à l'îlot GK/Par de contrer l'environnement diabétogène pro-oxydant (glucolipotoxicité, inflammation). Enfin, nous proposons que la dysfonction β-cellulaire engendrée par un excès d'antioxydants endogènes soit le prix à payer pour protéger la cellule β du rat GK/Par de la mort cellulaire.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) is the largest oil and protein crop in the world and it is grown for both oil and protein. To address the needs of both the edible oil market and industrial applications of soybean oil, fatty acid modification has been a focus of soybean breeding programs. Natural variation, mutagenesis and genetic engineering have been used to alter the fatty acid profile. Several genes, mostly desaturases, have been associated with altered fatty acid profiles but enzymes in the Kennedy Pathway have yet to be studied as another source of genetic variation for altering the fatty acid profiles. The Kennedy Pathway is also known as the oil producing pathway and consists of four enzymes: glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (G3PAT); lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (LPAAT); phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAP); and diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1). The starting material for this pathway is glycerol-3-phosphate, which is produced from glycerol by glycerol kinase (GK), and the product of this pathway is triacylglycerol (TAG). The overall objective of this study was to elucidate the role that the Kennedy Pathway plays in determining the fatty acid profile in two ways: (1) sequencing the transcribed region of the genomic genes encoding the enzymes of GK, G3PAT, LPAAT, and DGAT1 in soybean genotypes with altered fatty acid profiles; and (2) studying their expression over seed development, across three growing temperatures. The genetic material for the study consisted of four soybean genotypes with altered fatty acid profile: RG2, RG7, RG10, and SV64-53. Results from sequencing showed that the mutations identified in G3PAT, LPAAT, and DGAT1 in the four soybean genotypes did not explain the differences in the fatty acid profiles. The expression of G3PAT, LPAAT, and DGAT1 over seed development showed that G3PAT had the lowest levels, followed by LPAAT, then DGAT1, across the growing temperatures. The differences in expression among genotypes corresponded to differences in fatty acid accumulation, suggesting that expression rather than genetic mutations in the transcribed region of the genes influenced the fatty acid profile of the genotypes in this study. In conclusion, the enzymes of the Kennedy Pathway appear to contribute to the altered fatty acid profiles observed in the soybean mutant genotypes. / Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation (formerly Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation), BioCar Initiative, Grain Farmers of Ontario, SeCan

Gėluvos regioninis aukštas buvo išskirtas 2-oje Baltijos stratigrafų konferencijoje 1993 metais, kuri vyko Vilniuje, Lietuvoje, spausdintoje medžiagoje (Paškevičius ir kt., 1994). Anksčiau, kaip savarankiškas stratigrafinis padalinys, buvo vadinamas sluoksniais su Euripterus (Schmidt, 1891) ir šie sluoksniai buvo koreliuojami su apatine ludlovio dalimi. Vėliau šie sluoksniai buvo pavadinti Rootsikülos vardu (Bekker, 1925). Rootsikülos regioninio aukšto stratotipas buvo nebeegzistuojamame Viitos karjere (Sidaravičienė, 1999). Neostratotipas buvo išskirtas Vesiku upelio atodangoje prie Rootsikülos kaimo, o hipostratotipas – Kipio gręžinio 25,6 – 53,6 m intervale (Эйнасто, 1970). Rootsikülos regioninis aukštas yra išskirtas sėklavandenėse facijose kur vyrauja sluoksniuoti lagūniniai dolomitai, dolomitai su biodurbacijomis, sluoksniuoti stromatolitai ir stambenuolaužinės klintys. Rootsikülos regioninio aukšto ribos buvo išskirtos remiantis sedimentacijos cikliškumais. Rootsikülos regioninio aukšto pjūvis Estijoje neturi koreliacinių požymių, būtinų chronostratigrafiniam padaliniui, stratotipas yra laguninėse facijose, pjūvyje yra randamos stratigrafinės pertraukos ir spragos. Dėl pertraukų, spragų ir nepilnų geologinių pjūvių, regioninio aukšto ribos visame baseine ir jų koreliacijos yra neaiškios, ribos ir apimtis globalioje graptolitėje stratigrafineje skalėje nesikoreliuoja su biozonu ribomis ir apimtimis. Trūkstant tikslios regioninio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The regional horizon of Geluva has been characterized in the written materials (Paškevičius and others, 1994) of the second conference of Baltic stratigraphists which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania in the year 1993. Earlier it was recognized as a separate stratigraphic element only in conjunction with Euripterus (Schmidt, 1891) layers and those layers were correlated with the lower part of Ludlov. Later on those layers were given the name of Rootsikülos (Bekker, 1925). The stratotype of the regional horizon of Rootsikülos was in the extinct quarry of Viitos (Sidaravičienė, 1999). The neostratotype has been characterized in the exposures of Vesiku stream near the village of Rootsikülos, the hipostratotype – in the boring of Kipio (interval between 25.6 and 53.6 meters) (Эйнасто, 1970). The regional horizon of Rootsikülos is characterized in shallow-water facies which are being dominated by layered lagoonal dolomites, dolomites containing with bioturbations, by layered stromatopors and coarse-fragmented limestone. The boundaries of this horizon were determined by referencing the cycle of sedimentation. The sectional view of the regional horizon of Rootsikülos in Estonia does not have correlational features that are required for a chronostratigraphic element. The stratotype is in lagoonal facies. The sectional view contains stratigraphic breaks and gaps which, in conjunction with the incomplete geological sectional view, is the cause... [to full text]

<p>During development of type 1 and type 2 diabetes plasma insulin patterns are altered. Since the islet insulin release pattern has been implicated in this development, insulin secretion from single islets was studied and linked to the islet protein levels of uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2). Islets were isolated from NOD- and KKA^y- mice, GK- and GK-derived congenic rats, which are animal models of diabetes, and three human subjects with type 2 diabetes. At basal glucose (3 mM), insulin release from such islets was pulsatile and the amount released was comparable to that of control islets. When the glucose concentration was raised to 11 mM insulin release was essentially unchanged in islets isolated from older NOD- and KKA^y- mice, GK- and Niddm1i congenic rats, and NIDDM persons. In islets from Niddm1f congenic rats, younger NOD- and KKA^y-mice, control animals and normal human donors the secretion rate increased 2-9 fold when the glucose concentration was raised. This rise in secretion was manifested as increase of the amplitude of the insulin oscillations without affecting their frequency. Impaired glucose-induced insulin release was associated with reduction in glucose oxidation measured in NOD-islets, unaffected respiration measured in GK-islets and higher protein level of UCP2 measured in KKA^y-islets. When the UCP2 amounts in KKA^y-islets were reduced by culture to those of control islets, glucose-induced insulin secretion was essentially normalized. Our studies suggest that the deranged plasma insulin patterns observed in diabetes are related to decrease in the amplitude of insulin oscillations from the islets rather than loss of the oscillatory activity. This reduction of pulse amplitude may be related to impaired glucose metabolism and/or increased mitochondrial uncoupling. </p>

During development of type 1 and type 2 diabetes plasma insulin patterns are altered. Since the islet insulin release pattern has been implicated in this development, insulin secretion from single islets was studied and linked to the islet protein levels of uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2). Islets were isolated from NOD- and KKAy- mice, GK- and GK-derived congenic rats, which are animal models of diabetes, and three human subjects with type 2 diabetes. At basal glucose (3 mM), insulin release from such islets was pulsatile and the amount released was comparable to that of control islets. When the glucose concentration was raised to 11 mM insulin release was essentially unchanged in islets isolated from older NOD- and KKAy- mice, GK- and Niddm1i congenic rats, and NIDDM persons. In islets from Niddm1f congenic rats, younger NOD- and KKAy-mice, control animals and normal human donors the secretion rate increased 2-9 fold when the glucose concentration was raised. This rise in secretion was manifested as increase of the amplitude of the insulin oscillations without affecting their frequency. Impaired glucose-induced insulin release was associated with reduction in glucose oxidation measured in NOD-islets, unaffected respiration measured in GK-islets and higher protein level of UCP2 measured in KKAy-islets. When the UCP2 amounts in KKAy-islets were reduced by culture to those of control islets, glucose-induced insulin secretion was essentially normalized. Our studies suggest that the deranged plasma insulin patterns observed in diabetes are related to decrease in the amplitude of insulin oscillations from the islets rather than loss of the oscillatory activity. This reduction of pulse amplitude may be related to impaired glucose metabolism and/or increased mitochondrial uncoupling.

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This study proposes an answer to the question of what the contemporary relevance of the writings of GK Chesterton (1874-1936) may be to the field of visual culture studies in general and to discourse on visual hermeneutics in particular. It contends that Chesterton’s distinctive hermeneutic strategy is dramatology: an approach rooted in the idea that being, which is disclosed to itself via language, has a dramatic, storied structure. It is this dramatology that acts as an answer to any philosophical outlook that would seek to de-dramatise the hermeneutic experience. The structure of Chesterton’s dramatology is unpacked via three clear questions, namely the question of what philosophical foundation describes his horizon of understanding, the question of what the task or goal of his interpretive process is and, finally, the question of what tools or elements shape his hermeneutic outlook. The first question is answered via an examination of his cosmology, epistemology and ontology; the second question is answered by the proposal that Chesterton’s chief aim is to uphold human dignity through his defenses of the common man, common sense and democracy; and the third question is answered through a discussion of the three principles that underpin his rhetoric, namely analogy, paradox and defamiliarisation. After proposing the structure of Chesterton’s dramatology via these considerations, the study offers one application of this dramatology to Terrence Malick’s film 'The tree of life' (2011). This is sustained in terms of the incarnational paradox between mystery and revelation that acts as the primary tension and hermeneutic key in Chesterton’s work. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Visual Arts / unrestricted

This study explores the representation of the hero in Lawrence and Andrew Wachowski’s Matrix film trilogy, which comprises The Matrix (Wachowski, Wachowski&Silver 1999), Matrix Reloaded (Wachowski, Wachowski&Silver 2003a) and The Matrix Revolutions (Wachowski, Wachowski&Silver 2003b). Special reference is made to how Neo embodies a postmodern view of heroism. This implies an exploration into the relationship between Neo, the protagonist and hero in the Matrix trilogy, and his mythological predecessors, as well as the relationship between the representation of Neo and ideas concerning heroism. In order to further understand the nature of heroism in the Matrix trilogy, the ideas of two philosophers, namely Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), are explored and compared. It is argued in this study that the heroism presented to the viewer by the Matrix trilogy can be interpreted as being representative of the meeting of the apparently contradictory ideas of these two philosophers. Both of these philosophers, though striving for a heroic ideal, arrived at vastly different conclusions. This study, whilst considering the nature of heroism in these two views, also seeks offer an examination of the relationship that Nietzsche’s and Chesterton’s writings have to one another. This examination is not an attempt to take sides with either of these philosophers, but merely to point out certain aspects of their two distinctive viewpoints as they relate to the films in question. This study especially seeks to investigate the claim that Neo is the embodiment of the Übermensch, the figure that most clearly resembles Nietzsche’s heroic ideal. Chesterton’s views of heroism are referred to in order to counter-balance and contextualise Nietzsche’s views on this. Mainly ethical aspects of the character and narrative of the hero are focused on in this study in order to show, firstly, that these more abstract aspects are implicit in the representation of the hero in the Matrix trilogy, and secondly, that the hero belongs to a moral taxonomy. The final aim of this study is to present a coherent view of the many facets of heroism that incorporates an assessment of how philosophy, ideology and semiology underpin the visual. / Dissertation (MA (Visual Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Visual Arts / unrestricted

Die Arbeit beginnt mit einer kritischen Rekonstruktion des Gedenk- und Forschungsdiskurses über ,Herder in Riga‘. Dabei werden drei Schwerpunkte gesetzt: Erstens werden ,Denkmäler‘ seit der Einweihung des Herder-Denkmals in Riga 1864 auf ihre kulturpolitischen Implikationen hin befragt. Zweitens werden ,Werkausgaben, Briefwechsel und Lebensbilder‘ seit der ersten postumen Gesamtwerkausgabe untersucht. Drittens werden ,Neuere Ansätze zur Edition und Interpretation‘ seit der Neuerschließung des handschriftlichen Nachlasses betrachtet. Im Zusammenspiel dieser drei Betrachtungsebenen wird die rückblickender Verfertigung verschiedener Bilder von ,Herder in Riga‘ metareflexiv nachvollzogen. Der Schwerpunkt der Arbeit liegt dann auf einer konzentrierten Relektüre der Schriften der Rigaer Jahre 1765 bis 1769. Blickleitend ist dabei die These, dass Herder in diesen Texten ein zentrales Problem bearbeitet, das Problem der Volksbildung. Dieses wird erstmals im philosophischen Diskurs der sogenannten ,Philosophieschrift‘ identifiziert, um in angrenzenden Diskursfeldern weiter bearbeitet zu werden. Ein besonderes Augenmerk gilt dabei den Feldern der praktischen Bildungsarbeit von Homiletik (,Der Redner Gottes‘), Pädagogik (,Von der Gratie‘) und Politik (,Publikumsabhandlung‘). Darüber hinaus wird das Projekt einer ,Revitalisierung der Poesie‘ nachgezeichnet, wie es in den poetologischen und literaturkritischen Reflexionen der Rigaer Jahre skizziert wird (,Dithyrambische Rhapsodie‘, ,Odenfragmente‘, ,Literaturfragmente‘). Analog dazu werden die Ansätze zu einer ,Reform der Prosakultur‘ rekonstruiert, wie sie im literaturkritischen und ästhetischen Diskurs entwickelt werden (,Literaturfragmente‘, ,Torso von einem Denkmal‘, ,Viertes Kritisches Wäldchen‘). Den Fluchtpunkt der Studie bildet das Volksliedprojekt: Im Ausgang der Rigaer Konstellation wird das Volkslied als privilegiertes Medium der Volksbildung entdeckt (,Briefwechsel über Ossian‘, ,Alte Volkslieder‘, ,Volkslieder‘). / The study begins with a critical reconstruction of the memorial and research discourse on 'Herder in Riga'. Three focal points are set: First, the monument culture, beginning with the Herder monument in Riga 1864, is examined with regard to its political implications. Secondly, the philological disourse on Herders life and letters since the first posthumous edition of his complete works is considered. Thirdly, new approaches on edition and interpretation since the new catalogization of Herder’s ,Nachlass‘ are evaluated. In the interplay of these three levels of observation, the retrospective production of various images of 'Herder in Riga' is retraced. Departing from these observation, the study develops a series of close-readings of the writings of the Riga years 1765 to 1769. The guiding thesis is that Herder continuously works on a central problem in these texts, the problem of popular education (,Volksbildung‘). The study argues that this topic is discovered in the so-called ,Philosophieschrift‘ and subsequently processed in adjacent fields of discourse. A focus lies on the practical fields of popular education in homiletics ('Der Redner Gottes'), pedagogics ('Von der Gratie') and politics ('Publikumsabhandlung'). In addition, the project of a 'revitalization of poetry' is retraced, as outlined in the poetological and literary-critical reflections of the Riga years ('Dithyrambische Rhapsodie', 'Odenfragmente', 'Literaturfragmente'). Analogously, Herder’s approaches to a 'reform of the prose culture' are reconstructed, as developed in literary criticism and aesthetic discourse ('Literaturfragmente', 'Torso von einem Denkmal', 'Viertes Kritisches Wäldchen'). The last chapter is dedicated to the folk song project: The study argues that folk songs are finally discovered as the ideal medium of popular education and can thus be considered as the ,telos‘ of the Riga project of ,Volksbildung‘ ('Briefwechsel über Ossian', 'Alte Volkslieder', 'Volkslieder').